As the demand for energy grows, particularly in terms of energy sources that do not leave a carbon footprint or other potentially dangerous or unhealthy results, the search for alternative energy sources has likewise intensified. Coal plants generate carbon dioxide, mercury contaminants, and various other undesirable effluents that are released into the environment. Natural gas has been utilized to a certain extent to generate heat and thus power for electrical generators; however, such gas stocks are difficult to reach and their access has proven to be rather controversial on occasion. Not to mention, the high flammability of such a resource has led to disastrous consequences on occasion with pipeline leaks and other like problems. Nuclear power has merited scrutiny as the underlying technology is suspect for safety and the potential for very harmful releases due to natural disasters, let alone, potential military or other attacks. Each of these power generating methods also rely upon the building of new plants in order to increase the amount of power available to certain geographic areas that are growing in population every year. With regulations, costs, time lags, and other such logistic and practical issues, these typical and traditional power generating processes are not simple to implement. Furthermore, the fixed location of such plants leaves them susceptible to any number of natural and manmade problems, from natural disasters (such as tornados shutting down Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plants in Alabama, or a tsunami literally destroying parts of a plant in Japan) to tragic human errors (such as the spillage of toxic coal waste in Tennessee, harming many acres of farmland and river sources, and shuttering the plant itself as a result) to worn out infrastructure issues (such as natural gas pipelines that have exploded due to earthquakes in the Middle East or due to deterioration over time in the United States, at least).
As has been quite noticeable in recent years, as well, electricity grids are highly dependent on the continual output of such coal, gas, and nuclear energy sources throughout the world. If disasters strike, as they have recently, and quite often, large swaths of populations may be left without power for unreasonable lengths of time. As the world has grown more and more dependent upon such available and relatively inexpensive energy sources for everyday activities, at least, there exists a need to provide not just cleaner sources of power around the globe, but sources that are reliable, plentiful, and inexpensive as well.
As alternatives, then, various natural, clean resources have been explored and/or revisited, albeit highly dependent upon government subsidies for implementation. For instance, wind power has proven to be relatively effective as an energy source, and more and more wind farms have been erected fairly recently as a result, at great cost to taxpayers. Unfortunately, such devices generate undesirable noise problems (and thus are considered nuisances to many that live within a certain distance from such farms) and, more importantly, are also at the mercy of actual wind sources; with low wind speeds, turbines may not properly rotate, thus reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of such devices. As well, large bladed wind turbines have been found to be potentially dangerous to the environment as certain species of birds have been harmed and even killed as a result of such machines. Another possibility, solar energy, has been considered and tried for many years in this respect. Although it has proven to be somewhat effective in the past, solar energy platforms are extremely expensive to implement; the costs involved with such systems have not been found to provide the necessary degree of efficiency to justify such outlays (and, again, have been largely subsidized through governmental payments rather than personal investments). Similar to wind power issues, solar energy generation is also dependent upon consistent exposure to the sun; in certain areas of the globe such a system would not function well if the sun were not readily available for photon capture over an appreciable period of time.
Water sources remain a viable option as a means of generating power, too. Unfortunately, though, past attempts at capturing hydrokinetic power have proven rather difficult to implement as well. The water wheel has been tried for many years, although this has been primarily a means to generate mechanical power through the flow of a stream present at an elevated height in relation to the wheel itself. Thus, such prior wheels (grist mills, for instance), depended upon the actual height of the water source in terms of potential energy to generate kinetic energy through the water drop on to the wheel blades (or like components). Such energy levels were sufficient for milling purposes in the past; in terms of electric generation, such devices would not attain sufficient kinetic energy for such a purpose. Hydroelectric dams have been constructed for many years, and at great cost, to provide electricity generation in certain geographic regions, as well. The necessity of preventing riparian or other water source flow in total through the erection of a dam, unfortunately, may cause environmental or other problems (lack of access to water in certain areas) that have proven, on occasion, to be more trouble than such an energy source is actually worth. As well, constant upkeep, regulatory compliance, and static location leave such energy generating alternatives suspect as well. Furthermore, as noted above, the costs with building such a dam, the time required to implement such a project, the environmental issues with potentially damaging aquatic creatures within the underwater turbines, and numerous other problematic concerns, leave such an electrical generating alternative as rather undesirable as a water source possibility.
Paddlewheel devices have been considered as alternative electrical generators in the past, too. Such prior devices have all involved either a fixed or floating vessel with at least one wheel component configured to rotate as the flow of water contacts immersed blades configured around its periphery. These previous paddlewheel designs all have the same limitations and drawbacks in that they all depend upon the flow speed of the water source directly to produce rotation of the target wheel component. In such a configuration, the water is thus supplied to the paddlewheel as it flows specifically within the water source. Thus, the current of the water in general, as it flows in contact with the wheel blades, and as it moves away from the wheel blades is substantially the same (in actuality, due to the open flow of the water source, and the force necessary to rotate the wheel through the blades, the current at the paddlewheel would be less than that of the water source itself). Such a result would create a highly inefficient method of power generation as the water flow speed would be the determining factor in the rotational speed generation of the wheel; with a low rotational velocity, the kinetic energy available for power generation would be rather low, effectively reducing the viability, if not reliability, of the overall system as a proper energy generating alternative to those described above.
Furthermore, even with paddlewheel devices that include open channels that provide a certain degree of water flow increase therethrough, such previous configurations have not imparted increases in water velocity above those expected for open channel designs. For example, the inclusion of outwardly curved pontoon floats (or attached walls) to a buoyant paddlewheel device would provide a limited increase of water flow; however, such a resultant transfer of kinetic energy would not provide a significant increase in overall power as such a straightforward open-channel design would not accord anything over a five to ten, at most, percent rise in water flow speed. To the contrary, to be effective in terms of causing necessarily high water flow speed increases, a design or configuration that allows for not only a doubling in water speed (at least), but also a significant increase force applied to the target paddlewheel blades during operation, would be of importance to create the most efficient electrical generation capabilities for a paddlewheel-based power plant. As such, open channel devices are too limited for such a purpose.
Thus, there remains a distinct need to provide an effective, reliable, clean, environmentally acceptable, efficient means to generate electrical power. The typical methods and the past alternative (clean) processes all exhibit significant drawbacks and deficiencies, as described above. As such, the potential for a moveable power generator that can utilize a natural riparian source at virtually any flow speed (such as, as examples, a river or tidal flow source) for effective electrical generation for either individual utilization or connection to a grid, is highly desirable. Additionally, a device that would also permit transport to any permissible and available geographic area for general and/or emergency power generation, as well as potentially accord a user the ability to provide not only power production, but also other beneficial services (emergency or otherwise), would also be a great necessity throughout the world. To date, again, the power generating industry has yet to provide such a highly beneficial system.